CHAPTER TWENTY: THE ACADEMY’S COUNTEROFFENSIVE PART V: THE ENTRUSTED LEGACY PART IV: A GAME OF NINJA TAG PART I: LIGHTNING UNDYING AND THE GIRL WITH LOST MEMORIES
Meanwhile, Reis found himself in the Class Of Deviants.
"You sure have some nerve showing your face here Honours Rep" Zan said.
"When I accessed the teleportation crystal in Kolmnid Farms, I found myself back on Ryugaeia" Reis thought to himself.
"Take it easy on him Zan. I'm sure there's an explanation" Ryu said with a laugh.
"Ryu?! What are you doing here?! I thought…!" Reis exclaimed.
"Relax Reis. I'm still confronting Tristran in Kolmnid Forest. This is a clone I've sent to help you guys" Ryu said.
"I was back on Ryugaeia just now and actually…I have no idea how I ended up here" Reis said with a nervous laugh.
"Don't cause a fuss Zan. I'm not going to help you if you get yourself into trouble" Rai said.
"Next thing you know they'll be saying I'm Zanfar" Zan muttered angrily.
"Zanfar. That's the darkness of Zan's homeworld Ryu mentioned earlier" Reis thought silently.
"What's Zanfar if I may ask?" Reis asked.
Zan laughed.
"Are you sure you want to know?" Zan asked in a creepy way.
Reis nodded.
"He's the darkness of my homeworld. He's also the manifestation of mankind's collective evil" Zan said.
"The dragon that lives within man" Reis muttered. "So did you defeat him?" Reis asked.
"He was not the kind of evil a single person could defeat but by the collective actions of single people that formed a multitude, he was defeated" Zan said with a laugh.
"How?" Reis asked.
"We feared him for so long but defeating him was actually quite easy. To defeat the collective evil of mankind requires the collective good of mankind. All it took was for mankind to be good and he lost" Zan said.
"By the way, you are Reis Dragonhaärt, the prefect of the Class Of Honours right? Would you happen to have someone in your class…I don't know…maybe who is searching for someone? I've been feeling like there's someone I need to find" Rai said.
"Could he be the one Andrea is searching for?" Reis wondered.
"Yes in fact, I do. A girl named Andrea Rayne" Reis said.
"I'd like to meet her. I'm willing to come with you whenever you're ready. Call me Rai by the way" Rai said.
"Okay, wait for us Zan. I'll be sending my class your way as well" Reis said.
"I'm off to look for Ayu" Zan said and the three boys disappeared.
Reis and Rai appeared in the Class Of Honours.
"Guys! We've got to move now! We're headed to the Class Of Deviants!" Reis declared.
"What?! Why?!" Atlanta asked.
"Ryu's currently confronting the darkness of his homeworld so the Sanctum Of Decadent Wyverns might soon make a move against us. If we're together, we're less likely to be picked off one by one" Reis said.
"Shoot!" Michael exclaimed in horror.
"Ryu's confronting Tristran alone?!" Atlanta exclaimed in horror.
"He instructed me to watch over you guys and Zan to watch over his class. Has anyone seen Andrea?" Reis asked worriedly after noticing Andrea's absence.
"Not for a while no. She hasn't returned from Rai's Sanctuary yet. This is bad. Ayumi left a while ago as well" Atlanta exclaimed in horror.
Reis took out his crystal key and sent messages to Ayumi and Andrea to meet them in the Class Of Deviants when they received the message.
"Rai! Son of the Undying King Raijinn, and the Undying Queen Forta. I have Andrea Rayne in my custody. If you want her back you'll meet me in the Hall Of The Daemon!" Rai suddenly heard a voice speak within his mind.
He frowned angrily and his frown slowly intensified.
"I know where she is Reis. Leave her to me and go face your nemesis" Rai said and headed for a teleportation crystal. "I think I am also beginning to understand how it is that part of my memories are missing" he said.
"An unknown force just challenged you didn't it?" Reis asked.
"I don't know about unknown but I know it is the darkness of my homeworld. It's about time we settled things Daemon King!" Reis declared.
"Rai! You can't charge in alone! This might be a trap!" Reis declared.
"Then it is one the Sanctum Of Decadent Wyverns will fall into. I may have lost my memories of Andrea but every now and then I get flashes of my journey with her and I remember that somewhere along our journey, Andrea earns herself the name 'Wielder Of The God Weapons!' If I can get to her I'm certain she will be fine. You need to focus on ensuring the safety of your class" Rai said and disappeared.
Meanwhile Zan was in the Hall Of Dream Knights.
"Face! Vikki! Ai! Have you guys seen Ayu?!" Zan called frantically.
Ai ran to Zan.
"What's going on Zan? Ayu looked frantic a while ago and said she was going to face Zanfar in order to protect you. What did she mean?!" Ai asked frantically.
"Seriously, for someone so diligent Ayu can be quite reckless at times! I'm going to stop her!" Zan declared.
Meanwhile in Kolmnid Forest, Ryu smiled.
"You really put a lot of effort into separating my students…I'm impressed" Ryu said.
"You should be" Tristran said as his image overlapped with that of a sinister sabre-toothed black Dragon.
"However…a word of caution to you Tristran…though my students may appear separated from one another…they are also one…just like…we are" Ryu said as his image overlapped with that of a magnificent Rainbow Dragon.
In the Hall Of Dream Knights, Zan received a message from Ryu.
"Don't worry about Ayu Zan. Head back to the Class Of Deviants. I've sent a clone to intercept her" Ryu said.
Zan sighed in relief.
"I really owe you one Ryu" Zan said.
"Don't sweat it" Ryu said.
Rai meanwhile was charging along the Passage Of The Daemon, a tremendously long bridge of stone hanging over an abyss of lava.
"I'm coming Andrea!" he said with determination.
Suddenly, Ryu appeared beside him.
"I thought you were confronting the darkness of your homeworld in Kolmnid Forest, then you suddenly appeared in class. What are you, a spectre?" Rai asked.
"A nin-ja, not a spectre, a ninja" Ryu corrected.
"So why are you here?" Rai asked.
"Before you head off to rescue Andrea, I need you to do something for me" Ryu said.
"No time. I've got to get to Andrea fast!" Rai said.
"Listen to me Rai! Doing this will ultimately save Andrea!" Ryu said seriously.
Rai stopped in his tracks and sighed.
"Besides you know time in this Ark flows a bit differently. I assure you no time will be wasted while you carry out this task" Ryu said.
"And what is this task?" Rai asked.
Ryu removed a crystal key and swiped at a functionality.
"There, I just shared a special functionality with you" Ryu said.
In the class of Deviants, the other clone of Ryu was explaining the situation to the others.
"So you're saying Tristran is actually the manifestation of a force called 'the Darkness Of The Worlds' and he's been interfering with history in our various homeworlds in order to avert his final destruction?" Zan asked.
"Yes, and each of the worlds is connected to the Academy via one of Twelve Gates so as Tristran's influence in the various worlds increases, pathways of infiltration are created allowing him into the Ark" Ryu explained.
"So how do we defeat him?" Buern asked.
"We diminish his influence in the various worlds by correcting the histories Tristran has altered. Anyone up for a game of ninja tag?" Ryu asked with a sly smile.
"Sure" everyone laughed.
"But who gets to be 'it' first?" Buern asked.
"Actually, Reis and Rai are 'it' right now" Ryu said.
"I'm 'it'? What do you mean?" Reis asked.
Meanwhile in the Passage Of The Daemon, Rai checked his crystal key.
"'Protocol Twelve Gates?' What's it for?" Rai asked.
"With this functionality you can journey to any of the worlds connected to this Academy and directly influence events there but I've limited your access to one world" Ryu said.
Rai accessed the 'Protocol Twelve Gates'. The word 'Kolmnid' was displayed on his crystal device.
"That's your homewold" Rai noted.
"But what event has Tristran altered there?" Rai asked.
"In the era I'm sending you to, Tristran has taken control of a warrior called Shekan and is spreading terror throughout Kolmnid. You will journey to Kolmnid and find my ancestor, a man called Gaiden. He should be training on a mountain in the era and time encoded into the location" Ryu said.
"Then what?" Rai asked.
"You will deliver a message to him from his beloved descendant. A lightning strike charged with all of your strength!" Ryu declared.
"You're insane! If your ancestor dies, you'll never be born and Tristran's victory will be assured!" Rai exclaimed.
"Don't worry, my ancestor is quite formidable" Ryu laughed.
Rai nodded and accessed the Protocol Twelve Gates.
IN KOLMNID…
A warrior named Gaiden was practicing Lightning Element Jutsu atop a mountain. A thunderstorm raged all around him. A Dragon stood behind him.
"You finally completed your Lightning Element Jutsu! Amazing! You just created a new element!" the Dragon said.
"Thanks for the compliment Dragon Of Destiny" Gaiden said with a smile.
"I can't believe this was the shy ninja who left his village in order to stop Shekan" the Dragon Of Destiny thought silently.
"If only there was a way I could channel the lightning I generate into a weapon and focus it. Every weapon I attempt to channel my lightning jutsu through either shatters or melts" Gaiden said.
Suddenly, the sky began to rumble loudly.
"RAIKEN!!!" a loud voice called and a tremendous bolt of lightning headed Gaiden's way.
"Gaiden! Watch out!" the Dragon Of Destiny called.
"LIGHTNING ELEMENT! LIGHTNING BOMBADA JUTSU!!!" Gaiden roared and leapt towards the bolt of lightning channelling his own lightning into his fist.
He punched the lightning bolt with all his might and the energy flowing towards him was deflected. He noticed the form of a warrior in the lightning.
"A gift from your beloved descendant" a voice said to Gaiden and the lightning hit the mountain the Dragon Of Destiny was standing on.
Gaiden descended and noticed what looked like a blade warped in a spiral pattern sticking from the side of the mountain.
"That's it! I'll craft a weapon with this!" Gaiden exclaimed happily.
Rai found himself back on the Ark with Ryu.
"Now I get it" Rai said.
"What?" Ryu asked.
Rai unsheathed a sword.
"Right before Tanya asked me to get you, she gave me this sword. She said a ninja from Kolmnid called Rokkan asked her to give it to me in case he disappeared" Rai said as the blade transformed into lightning.
Rai assimilated the lightning within himself.
"Now let's go get Andrea!" Rai declared and he and Ryu charged onwards.